System: Sins of the Dead

The world around me was dead.

Not metaphorically.

Not post-apocalyptic.

Dead.

The air didn't move.

The sky was a dome of stone.

And the ground… it was black dust and twisted roots, scorched from the inside out.

I didn't remember my name.

But the ashes did.

> They whispered it with every step I took.

> "Kai…"

---

I had no system interface.

No health bar.

No missions.

But I felt something in my chest—glowing faintly, like an ember that wouldn't die.

It pulsed with every memory that tried to crawl back:

> Harper's scream.

Adrian's hand on my shoulder.

Emily, whispering my name in the dark.

"You're not your sins."

"But you're still responsible for them."

---

Up ahead, I saw movement.

Not natural.

It looked like a person, but their shadow didn't match their body.

They staggered. Twitching. Broken.

When I stepped closer, I saw the truth:

> They had no face.

Just a black hole where memory should have been.

Its body twitched like a marionette, and from inside its chest, a mechanical voice echoed—

> "HOST REJECTED. CLEANSE. CLEANSE."

---

> [ENEMY IDENTIFIED: HOLLOW ONE – CULL CLASS]

> Origin: Failed Trial Survivors

Directive: Purge Rebellious Code

Status: Autonomous, Mindless

Danger Rating: Moderate (In Groups: Severe)

Ashwalker Priority Target: 100%

---

It lunged.

I didn't think.

I moved.

Instinct.

I ducked under its claws, wrapped my hands around its broken jaw, and snapped its neck clean in half.

Ash and static hissed from the corpse.

It didn't scream.

It just whispered:

> "Kai... you shouldn't be."

I spat into the dust.

> "That's the point."

---

> [SYSTEM INTERFERENCE ATTEMPTED… FAILED]

User "Ashwalker" cannot be purged.

Reason: You burned the throne.

---

Suddenly the earth cracked.

Not naturally.

Like something was digging beneath me.

Then a voice. Sharp. Mechanical. Female.

> "TARGET ACQUIRED."

> "DEPLOYING RECONSTRUCTOR."

A humanoid shape burst from the dirt, ten feet tall, silver-plated, with cables for muscles and a screen where a face should be. On the screen—my system profile flickered. Line by line. Error after error.

It raised a blade the size of a door.

> "ERROR MUST BE ERASED."

---

I didn't have a weapon.

But I had the ember.

And as I clenched my fist…

It lit.

White fire bloomed across my palm.

No system message.

No skill unlocked.

Just pain.

Real. Alive. Mine.

---

> "Come on then," I said. "Let's see if you can erase what you never understood."

---

The thing charged.

I screamed.

Fire exploded from my hand.

The screen cracked.

And I remembered—

> I chose to burn.

> I chose to feel.

> I chose to be free.

---

---

Meanwhile, above…

Harper sat in the ruins of an old memory gate, scanning for signals.

Nothing.

Until—

A blip.

Faint. Weak.

But real.

Her eyes went wide.

> "He's alive."

Adrian looked up. "You're sure?"

She nodded.

> "I don't care how deep he fell.

I'm going to bring him back."